


Tenderness in an abandoned world

by IndigoDream



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Cabins, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Post-Apocalypse, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:34:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22018714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndigoDream/pseuds/IndigoDream
Summary: The cabin is quiet, the world is quiet, everything is quiet. It has been for almost a year now. Alec hates it. He wants the wild, unbridled noise of nature again, the loud and annoying sound of the city back.Somethinghappened in February, almost like a plague. At first, it had been the animals, silently dying all over the world. Then it had come for the older people, and then for the children, and then everyone else. They had cut all flights and all transportation in and out of the country when it had started really hitting all populations, in June.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 7
Kudos: 58





	Tenderness in an abandoned world

**Author's Note:**

> Hellooo~ 
> 
> I've been reading Wilder Girls by Rory Power, which I recommend!!, and it kinda inspired me to write this apocalyptic AU :) Hope y'all enjoy it :)

The cabin is quiet, the world is quiet, everything is quiet. It has been for almost a year now. Alec hates it. He wants the wild, unbridled noise of nature again, the loud and annoying sound of the city back. _Something_ happened in February, almost like a plague. At first, it had been the animals, silently dying all over the world. Then it had come for the older people, and then for the children, and then everyone else. They had cut all flights and all transportation in and out of the country when it had started really hitting all populations, in June. 

Alec had been stuck in Europe, on a work travel. Even if life seemed to fade, they were still being made to work for rich people would could afford to never go out and never work for anyone. It had been Alec’s life when he had been younger, but ever since his father had left with his mistress, his family’s lifestyle had fallen to a much mundane one. Now, it’s nothing anymore. He doesn’t even know if his family is still alive, but he hopes. It’s the last thing he really owns, hope. The clothes on his back are far from his pre-catastrophe outfits. No more sleek suits and carefully ironed shirts, now he wore heavy sweaters with thick flannels underneath, thick mittens and always the same heavy pants that kept in the warmth. There hasn’t been any good weather in months, only snowstorms after snowstorms, and the occasional rain. 

“I’m back!” The loudness of Magnus’ voice startles Alec slightly, but he smiles at his snow covered companion. 

Magnus is currently shaking off all the snow from his outfit, gracefully taking off his boots and jacket and leaving them close to the door. He is as beautiful as the first time Alec first met him. It had been shortly after his last communication with Izzy, and he had been roaming the streets of London for somewhere to stay; his hotel had been taken over by government officials from the countryside a week before, and he had outrun his stay at the local embassy. He had no more money to pay, and in a crowded city like London, where people were eager to buy off the growing black market, it meant that he was as good as dead. 

Magnus had appeared almost like an angel that day. Since then, they have been traveling back to the US together. They have crossed the Bering Strait a few days back, but it had been such a hardship that they had found themselves holed in this cabin ever since, at first recuperating and then stuck by the continuous snowstorms. 

“I think it’s going to clear up soon enough,” Magnus says, dropping his bag on the table in the center of the room. “If your ankle is better, we can probably leave in the morning, or maybe the next. Who knows when we will have another chance like this.” 

“Right,” Alec nods and comes closer, putting down his left foot carefully. “Anything interesting out there?” 

Magnus puffs slightly. “Snow, more snow, and yet more snow.” 

“No one around?” 

“Not a soul. It really feels like we are alone in the world.” 

Alec sighs and looks at what Magnus brought back. “You went to another cabin?” he asks as he pulls out canned mushrooms and an old pack of cornflakes, with what appears to be dried tomatoes and some nuts in a bag.

“There is one, about ten kilometers south," the other man answers. “I could salvage this for the day, but I thought we could stop there tomorrow, not overcharge ourselves for the first hour or so that way.” 

They only have light backpacks with sweaters and food already, but he is right and Alec nods. 

“I started a fire for tonight,” he points in the direction of the living room. “Used up some of the boards from the upstairs bedroom for that, since I doubt the wood outside is dry enough.” 

His companion chuckles, and Alec gulps down. They are friends, very good friends now despite some tense beginnings, but Alec has been wanting more. He isn’t in denial, he loves Magnus and he knows it, but they have been clear with each other: their goal is to find their family, first and foremost. In a time like this, they don’t have time for romance or love, not even sex. When they are forced to stay inside for days on end, they still manage to do useful things. There are always houses nearby to explore, mending to do on the clothes, food to prepare or catch, and so many other things as well. Survival is never as easy as in the shows Max liked to watch. 

“How is your ankle? Let me look at it." Magnus hasn’t finished saying this that he is making Alec sit down on one of the kitchen’s chair and looking at the sprained limb. “It’s healing pretty well, no more swelling and no more bruising either… You feel alright walking on it?” 

He looks at Alec as he speaks, but his thumbs trace soothing circles on Alec’s ankle. It’s distracting, to have Magnus’ hands on him, despite it not being the first time. Magnus was a doctor in a children’s ward before this whole mess, and he is always making sure Alec looks after his injuries. This sprain, that had happened the day after their crossing of the Strait when Alec had been hunting for their meal, isn’t the worse one, but it has slowed down their pace considerably. Magnus rarely gets hurt himself, but he keeps repeating that it’s only because Alec insists on always taking the difficult and dangerous tasks. 

Like today. It should have been Alec out there, looking for their food. 

“It’s alright,” Alec nods. “I’m pretty sure I can walk on it tomorrow all day and it’ll hold.” 

“Good, I hate to see you hurt.” There is so much tenderness in Magnus’ eyes when he says this, so much softness that for a second Alec hopes… 

“If that’s all,” he ruins himself the moment, standing back up. “I should go cook dinner. I’ll get what we have left here and finish this too and I’m sure I can make us something palatable, if not delicious.” 

Magnus is startled when he stands back up, but he smiles quickly enough. “Alright, I’ll trust you with that.” 

Dinner is alright in the end. It’s not the most delicious thing they have eaten, but it’s by far not the worst either. They are lucky to have found this cabin, with all the food it provided them. 

They push the mattresses downstairs, near the fire, that evening. Finally, they can sleep without their sweaters. It almost feel normal when they are finished setting up. If they were children, this would be quite the fun sleepover, but they are adults trying to return to their families. 

“Your beard is getting quite thick again," Magnus remarks quietly as they settle for sleep. “It suits you. You should keep it like this, when you return to your wife.” 

“My wife?” Alec frowns as he turns to him. The compliment warms his heart but the following sentence confuses him. He has been out of the closet for many years at home, and he thought Magnus knew. But then… He never said anything.

“Oh, sorry, you called a woman’s name in your sleep last night, when you were having your nightmare. I assumed that—“

“Was it Isabelle?” Alec looks at Magnus intently. Why did the other man assume that he was married to Izzy? He has mentioned her many times. Although, never by her full name. 

“Yes, and you seemed in so much pain that-" 

“That’s Izzy, my sister.” 

“Oh.” The sound is almost inaudible, blending in with the crackling of the fire that they just restocked. “I see.” 

“I rarely call her something else than Izzy, you couldn’t know.” Alec says this quietly too, trying to understand what it means that Magnus seems almost relieved when he continues. “Certainly not my wife. I’m rather the type to have a husband than a wife anyway.” 

“Oh. And is there a husband to think of?" Magnus has moved to look at him now, his eyes intent. 

They have had a glass or two of an old whiskey with their dinner, a bottle they found in the master bedroom. It had been the first alcohol Alec had tasted since at least August, if not earlier, and he is a bit lightheaded. 

“Nope. No husband, partner, boyfriend, nothing of any kind.” He looks at Magnus some more. “Free as a bird.” 

Magnus smiles a bit, and he comes closer to the edge of his mattress. “Glad to know that.” 

He is closer to Alec’s bed now, so much closer than before that Alec can’t help his strong inhale. He doesn’t want to hope too much, but then… It’s the only thing left to him by this cold and silent world.

“What about you,” he asks softly as Magnus stays on his side of the divide. “Got anyone waiting back in Brooklyn?” 

“Oh no,” Magnus smiles a bit. His cheeks are colored by the warmth of the alcohol; they are both much lighter weight than they had been before. “I’m free as a bird too,” he echoes with a smile and crosses the divide. 

Alec’s bed isn’t small, but he is in the middle of it. When Magnus moves from his bed to Alec’s, he ends up pressed against him. They are both without a shirt to speak of and their linen pants are thin enough that it almost feels like skin to skin contact. 

“Is this alright?” Magnus’ breaths tickle Alec’s neck but the taller man nods.

“More than so.” 

Magnus smiles again, and slowly, he comes even closer, and his lips graze at Alec’s neck. “And this?” 

A shiver runs through Alec’s body. Magnus' touch is lighting his body on fire and he nods again, his hands slowly coming to caress Magnus’ torso. They don’t need to talk about this anymore, they know where they are headed. Alec doesn’t want to talk anyway. Every little interactions from the previous months becomes clearer as Magnus’ lips slowly taste his skin, taking their time to come up to Alec’s. 

When they finally kiss, it’s soft and hungry, not quiet in anyway. Magnus slowly arranges himself on top of Alec as he kisses him deeply, and there is no mistake that they are both aroused. 

“I’ve wanted to do this for months,” Magnus moans as his covered cock ruts against Alec’s, who can only moan in agreement. “Do you know how absolutely scandalous you looked when you bathed in those hot springs, back in November?” 

Alec laughs and grinds his hips against Magnus, the building friction making his head a bit misty. “What about you in August, when you decided to climb those trees and you got back down with your shirt all teared up?” 

“Maybe I wanted to show off,” Magnus grins and he slips a hand in Alec’s pants. “This still alright?” 

Alec nods eagerly and ignores the way Magnus’ laughter makes his body flutter. He focuses on the man above him, on the rhythm they are slowly building up with hands and hips. This feels so good after months without anything else than his hand, when he could manage to have some time alone in the relative warmth of their shelters. This is even better than the many fantasies that had figured Magnus. 

When they both are coming down from their high, their pants are long gone and there are light bite marks on each of their neck and shoulders. They hadn’t dared to disturb the silence too much. They are afraid, underneath all of it, but they are together and it’s all that matters. 

They get cleaned up with some snow they heat over the fire, and Magnus’ bed remains empty the rest of the night. They hold each other tightly, this thing between them precious. They won’t let go of one another so easily.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't hesitate to leave a comment! Tell me what you thought, how you found it, etc :D


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